


Such Sweet Sorrow

by OlrichRakdos



Category: RWBY
Genre: Based off a /tg/ greentext that I vaguely remember, Feels train choo choo, I know it's old hat but whatever, Multi, Necromancer!Weiss, To those reading along I am so sorry, post-season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-22 23:11:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7457413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlrichRakdos/pseuds/OlrichRakdos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Team RWBY reunited, their powers regrew immensely.<br/>Called upon to defend a vital part of history, nothing could prepare them for the horrors to come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Long Sleep

The small town of Bastion, in its time, would have lived up to the name, the fortifications designed to guard against Beowolves and the occasional Ursa being small, but well built. Stone walls thicker than (and probably as high as) a stack of pancakes were meant for small-scale attacks.

Standing at the southern gate with a scowl on her face, Weiss Schnee pondered the fact as she flicked a handful of ice shards into the head of a particularly close Ursa. _This town was meant to be a warning and a library more than a proper city,_ she noted with disdain, ducking just in time to feel a pair of white-hot shotgun blasts scorch over her head.

"Watch where you're swinging those shots! I don't want to have to bill you for ruining the outfit, much less the hair and exponentially less so Myrtenaster!" Parrying a couple of strikes from the Beowolves in front of her, the duelist shot a meaningful glare over at the golden inferno near a shattered hole in the wall. "But I _will_ if I have to!"

A loud guffaw erupted, along with an explosion that rocked the foundations of the nearby gate. "I can take it, Snow Angel! _Bill_ me all you like! Hell, throw a _Ben_ in there, too!" Yellow steel swung in wide arcs, the blonde-haired source grinning with each Ursa sent flying head-over-spinal cord.

With a resounding _crack,_ the white-haired woman shattered a blue Dust crystal, sending her current foes away in much the same manner. "Done! That pun just earned you a blue Dust crystal to pay back!"

"Oh, come on! That's just _cold!"_ Yang laughed again, firing a handful of shells into the now receding crowd of Grimm.

Weiss merely rolled her eyes, staying by the gate and observing the retreat. It felt off to her. _Normally Grimm go for one big push, not a handful of small skirmishes. This behaviour is clearly extraordinary._ It was only until she reached for her now-empty yellow Dust pocket that the realisation hit her like one of Yang's punches. _They're not skirmishing. They're **burning resources.**_

The blonde had begun to tinker on both of her arms, tightening the bolts and testing various swings with them, when Weiss whirled about. It had taken a bit of time to adjust to the fact that her teammate had willingly removed her other arm to balance out the obviously skewed weight distribution. "Yang, we need to fall back to Blake and Ruby. _Immediately."_

A snort was the initial response, the tinkering on yellow steel continuing. She had gotten her gauntlets built into the arms, for both convenience and aesthetics. "If they're running, then we're doing good, right?"

Weiss wanted to slap her fellow Huntress. "How many rounds do you have left for Ember Celica, Yang? Enough to survive another skirmish? Another five? What do you think the Grimm are doing right now?"

It took a second for the situation to sink in, but when it did, lilac eyes went wide. "They're being beaten back by our awesome skills. We're keeping them from assaulting properly, and our weapons... are... Oh _shit."_

"Exactly. We need to fall back."

Yang surged off the stonework she had used as a chair, pacing for a bit. "We can't fall back, though. If we do, that puts everything on the line. All the work we've done to defend this place, the time we bought for Ozpin and Oobleck to get information..."

"Unless you have a better idea?" Weiss instinctively folded her arms and leaned on one leg, waiting to see if there was a bright idea that could match the glowing gold of her teammate's hair.

The eyes had started slowly fading from the beautiful lilac into an angry red. "We have to fight them here! There's nowhere else that works! An extraction is impossible from the library, and if we break, that means Ruby and Blake are in the north without backup!"

"In a perfect world, Yang, we would be able to continue without worry. But look at us. Aura in the red, low on supplies... Another two skirmishes, and we'll be down to nothing but close-quarters combat, blocking every strike because the one that connects will _kill us._ The Grimm are infinite. We are not."

The air stilled for a second, Yang's mechanical fists clenched by her side. Eventually, with a sigh, Weiss unfolded her arms. "I know you want to continue, Yang. But if you do, we'll lose you."

One of the fists slammed into the concrete behind her as the blonde roared in fury, broken shards trickling out of the indent and around her hand. "We Can't Fall Back! Someone Has To Stop Them!"

Weiss paused. "There is one thing that could work."

Rage instantly subsided into curiosity. "Wait, you mean we had a backup plan all along to keep fighting? Why didn't you tell me, Ice Queen?"

"Because it involves me killing you, Yang."

Silence reigned the battlefield for the second time in as many minutes, before the blonde spoke up, her voice trying extremely hard to keep level. "Your summoning stuff? Why not bring that big knight we saw at Beacon?"

A sigh escaped the heiress. "It's... Complicated. I was able to summon the knight at Beacon's fall because of the circumstances. I was empowered by everyone to continue, and it just happened. And besides, if I summoned it, I would have to focus on it and drain myself. People with Aura, however, are independent. If I summoned Adam, then he would act on his own and kill all of us unless I exerted myself on his will.

"However, if I could summon Pyrrha-" She swallowed at that particular memory, before shaking it off. _Another time._ "Then she would gladly hold the line here. But I can't summon her, and Adam's too volatile."

Yang looked at her arms. "So, you're saying that, if you brought me back, I'd be... me?"

"Of course." The constricting feeling in Weiss's throat worsened. _What would Blake feel? What would_ Ruby _feel?_

The Schnee train of thought was derailed, however, by Yang looking up at her, a finality in her eyes. "Then tell them I'm sorry."

"For what?" Her vision began to slowly blur, and she swore she heard a waver in her own voice.

Yang turned to look out over the small clearing around them. "For leaving so soon."

Desperation started to cloud over reason. "Wait, Yang, we can talk about this! Falling back is still an option!" Weiss could hear her own pleading in that sentence. _I don't want to lose you._

With a whirl, the blonde faced her. "No. You said yourself that we were low on Aura and supplies. I won't need to worry about that if you summon me, right? I'll be an avatar of destruction with limitless power." A smirk graced her face. "Also, side note, 'avatar of destruction' is an awesome name for a band."

Tears streaked down Weiss's face. "Don't do this to me. To us. To _Ruby._ "

"Weiss... I'm gonna be fine. I'll always be with you guys." Yang's arms hissed as the original bracelets of Ember Celica thudded into the dirt. "I love you, in-law."

Before Weiss could react, she had been swept into a deep kiss, one of Yang's arms around her back and the other holding her arm. _Sweet Dust, is this what Blake gets every time they're together? I can't believe-_

A wet 'shunk' snapped her from her reverie, and Weiss's eyes flew open, breaking the kiss with a look down to confirm that yes, Yang actually _had_ stabbed herself with Myrtenaster through the chest. "It's not goodbye... if I'll... see you again, Weiss... so... goodnight..."

Stepping back in horror, the blade slipped free, and Yang fell to her knees, blood slowly seeping out from the wound. Weiss's vision blurred. "No, no, no, no, no! Yang, please, don't do this!"

She barely caught the brawler, cradling the body and desperately pressing her hands to the wound. "You're going to be fine, Yang! Don't leave us!"

Even as the light faded from her eyes, Yang smiled, a last outward breath carrying one word. "Sorry..."

It took a second for the situation to sink in, but when it did, a cold fury filled her. She had never felt so impassive about anything before. She had never felt calculated and controlled hatred flow through her system.

As Weiss Schnee stood, she clenched her fist around the blade until the knuckles turned white and blood dripped off her hand. "In the name of the Schnee family line, I, Huntress Weiss, youngest of the line, call upon you in this time of need, honoured soul Yang Xiao Long."

Turning to the flash of light beside her, she nodded to the white and blue spectral form of her former teammate, arms back to the muscular flesh they had once been and hair flowing in an unseen wind. "You already know the task, yes?"

Yang gave her signature wink. "I do, Weiss. Hold the gate."

"Then I have one last thing to say." The woman in white hefted her fallen comrade in her arms, the yellow bracelets placed on top of her form. "I'm sorry for doing this to you, Yang."

Turning towards the interior of the town and starting her burdened stride, she heard the growl of the approaching Grimm, then the eclipsing roar of a sun dragon finally unleashed.


	2. Black As Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies if the bolding and the italics are a bit much in this chapter.  
> In any case, enjoy!

Her expensive boots clacked against the stone underneath her, and the defiant howls of Grimm interspersed with familiar cries of rage echoed from the southern gate, but the footfalls went unheard by Weiss Schnee, who was still staring down into her arms at the unmoving body of her teammate Yang Xiao Long. A handful of tears had wormed their way down her cheeks, dripping onto the golden gauntlets balanced atop their deceased owner.

She did not know whether it was reflex or instinct, but she had taken the small flare gun from the blonde's belt and slid the tracer round into its large chamber. Normally, the 'fall back' signal was meant to be an agreement on both sides, but seeing as one of the sides wasn't really up to the task of being alive, Weiss took it upon herself to signal the remaining members of team RWBY.

The round streaked into the air, an ice blue round with a yellow tail letting out a shrill hiss, and Weiss kept her gaze skyward. She did not want to miss their signal.

It felt like a lifetime, but a red canister with purple trail eventually spun upwards over the walls with a matching shriek. _Good, they got our-_ The heiress paused for a second in her train of thought. _**My** signal._

Eventually, Weiss found her way to the library entrance, stone stairs worn down by regular use. The building had been almost pristine a handful of years ago, but moss, dirt and dust (of the non-magical kind) had coalesced around and in every nook and cranny.

It was at the entrance that Weiss collapsed, too exhausted and emotionally spent to acknowledge the pain of landing on stone; too beaten down by the circumstances to do any more than cradle the lifeless brawler and silently sob.

"Weiss! Yang! You made it!" The weary, yet still chipper, voice of Ruby Rose-Schnee cut through the air and embedded itself into Weiss's heart. "You guys were running low on ammo too, huh?"

A darker, slightly more seductive voice did nothing more than to twist what had already stabbed the snow-haired woman, but Blake Belladonna had no idea of the events that had transpired, either. "They're too tired to stand, Ruby. Need a pick-me-up, Weiss? Yang?"

Unwrapping her arms from where they held the blonde corpse, Weiss slowly stood on shaking legs, before looking up at the duo. She already knew, even through the blur that her vision had become from crying so much, that their faces had changed from concern to confusion, then shock. "Blake... Ruby... I'm so sorry..."

In an instant, the mood changed.

Ruby dashed over to where her sister lay, murmuring to herself incoherently and starting to shake Yang. All Weiss caught was "Yang, please, wake up, this isn't funny..." before Blake growled, engulfing the heiress's sight. "What. Happened. To her?"

Something in the cat Faunus's tone caused Weiss to have a small epiphany in her grief-addled haze. _The truth sets a soul free._ "Yang grabbed my arm and made me shove Myrtenaster into her. It was the only way to keep the southern gate." Another thought came to her right after she said it. _I sound so... dull. Detached._

Both of her teammates paused at the heiress's statement, both unsure what to say.

Then Blake's resounding "You heartless bitch!" echoed through the streets, a sharp crack across Weiss's face (courtesy of Blush, the last memento of Adam) causing her to fall back down onto the pavement without resistance.

It was interesting, she observed, feeling more pain from that than Yang's death. With the pain came a small bit of control, and she looked up at the dark figure looming over her, voice cracking and ragged. "Blake, please, I can expla-"

"No! You killed Yang! You ruined my life! **Our** lives! We were going to be happy! And **you've stolen it!"** The statements oozed with hatred and blame, and Weiss swore that she _felt_ the anger in each word.

She spared a glance over at her wife, hoping that Ruby would at least defend her, but she recognised the look in her silver eyes. The same look in them at Yang's betrayal in the Vytal tournament. "Weiss... Why?"

And her heart shattered. "Ruby, it... we were running low, and... she wanted to do it... Yang sacrificed herself..." Almost on cue, shotgun blasts started echoing down the street, along with a screamed "You bastards aren't getting in that easy!"

It would have been comedic to see the trio synchronously speak the same statement in another time and place. _"Yang?"_

The veritable horde of Grimm, that would have been storming them if both Huntresses had fallen back, was currently being kept at bay by the almost divine fury of a sun dragon transcendent, waves of heat roiling off her as she spared a glance backward. "Ready for a big fight, team?" A destructive uppercut carved through an oncoming Griffon, the energy causing it to explode in a vibrant green burst.

As the tide of black started to recede, Blake strode over to the white and blue form of her girlfriend. _"Yang, what the hell is this shit?!"_

Said blonde (well, ex-blonde) turned about and smiled. "Hey, Blakey. Just a change of pace and colour. You like it?"

" **NO!** I hate it, Yang! I hate you for doing this to us! To ME!" The cat Faunus whirled about, drawing Wilt and leveling it right at the now-standing Weiss, hatred and sadness intermingling in the tears that streaked down her cheeks. "How can you live with yourself, You **MONSTER?"**

The four stood still for a minute in the desolate town, the last declaration echoing slightly throughout the stonework, before Weiss finally spoke. "None of us are monsters, Blake. Yang was the one who took it upon herself to stave off the Grimm."

Yang stepped forward, looking at both Ruby and Blake. "It's true. I was out of ammo, and the field repairs on Luke and Ricky were getting worse." She gestured to her body's lifeless arms, the metal glinting slightly. "When Weiss talked about her summoning, I knew it'd do this."

Wilt's point wavered in the air, but still remained trained on the heiress. "And you never thought to _talk to us_ about such a big decision?"

"It was a snap choice, Blake. I feel invigorated, energised. Better than ever before. And I have Weiss to thank."

The roar of oncoming Grimm cut the conversation short, a surge of darkness pouring in from the abandoned entrances as each Huntress reloaded. Ruby gave Weiss a deep stare. "I hope you know what you're doing with your Semblance, love."

Swallowing deep, the heiress rolled her neck, relishing in the cracks that let her know that she was at least still capable of feeling something. "I hope so too, Ruby."

\-------

As the last Creep lay dissolving on the masonry, Blake fell to one knee, using the incorporeal Yang and Wilt to keep from falling directly into the concrete. Stabbing a small syringe into herself, Weiss shook for a second, then sighed. Blake had to contend with the extra weight of Wilt and Blush on her belt, yet was still fighting like her old self. Bruises had covered her arms and legs, and her Aura was rapidly plummeting. "Blake, it's not too-"

The cat Faunus growled, slowly standing upright as a surge of crimson flowed from Blush around her wrappings and up to her eyes. "You shut your privileged, snotty, ignorant, arrogant, narrow-minded mouth, **heiress."**

"Blake, what's gotten into you?" It was Yang who had spoken up, turning her lover to face the spectre. "Ever since we defeated Adam and you took his awesome sword, you've been getting more aggressive with each day. Tell us what's wrong."

" **Everything.** Everything's wrong. We still haven't found the Maidens that Ozpin was harping on about, Beacon is still overrun with Grimm because of the damn dragon, and instead of clearing it out, we're here, perusing some **dusty old library** for some stupid papers." Weiss paused. _Blake loves books and history, why is she hating the mi-_

It became all too clear to her, a brief pulse in the crimson rippling from Blush to Blake's eyes as she began speaking again. _It's Adam. Even now, in death, he still haunts her._ Striding forwards for her, Weiss brought Myrtenaster up, tuning out Ruby's exclamations of confusion and Yang's counter arguments.

Looming behind the cat Faunus, her voice hardened into steel. **"Adam. Get. Out. Of _my teammate."_** And with a single thrust, the blade slid through flesh, into Blake's back, piercing a couple of internal organs and protruding out of her chest.

The crimson jerked, and a familiar, deep voice chuckled from Blake's mouth, along with a small trail of blood. "Only when you bring me back, **heiress."**

A twist of her blade caused the crimson to shatter, leaving her friend to gasp for air a couple of times, coughing blood onto the pavement as the other two members of team RWBY screamed.


	3. Thus Kindly, Scatter

Ruby Rose was still screaming when Weiss pulled back her teammate's head and engulfed the cat Faunus in a last kiss, gently sliding the blade free of the cold torso with a murmured "I'm sorry, Blake."

"Weiss, what in the world just happened?! Was Blake possessed? Did you do it?" Ruby's shrill, high-pitched yelling was not even distracting the heiress as she began to speak under her breath, gripping Myrtenaster again. "In the name of the Schnee family line-"

"Answer me, Weiss!" A hand grabbed her shoulder and whirled her about to face the team leader. "What did you do?"

The tears streaming down her wife's face made her cave. "I stabbed Blake." That one sentence made her stop. _I stabbed Blake. I really_ am _a monster._

"Why? First Yang, now Blake. Am I next? Please, Weiss, I don't want to die!"

Her rapier clattered to the stonework as she wrapped her arms around the crying redhead. "Ruby, I would never do that to you. I love you too much to turn Myrtenaster on you intentionally." As if on cue, Yang strode over, placing a gentle hand on Ruby's back. "Don't worry, sis. We'll always be here for you."

A sob stained her snow-coloured shoulder. "I don't-" The usual ball of red energy hiccuped. "Never wanted to... lose any of you..."

"I know, Ruby." Weiss's voice was hoarse; choking from losing half of her team to her own hand. "I know." The guilt had started to pile onto her back. _I'm a monster. I killed two of my teammates, my favourite in-laws, and now I might kill my wife?_

Closing her eyes, she saw the last sparkles in Yang's eyes on her left; her right, Blake's final breath. _I'm so sorry._

Weiss only realised that she said her thoughts out loud when Ruby pulled her head back from the embrace, tears having cascaded down her cheeks. "Sorry won't bring Blake back, Weiss."

Stepping back from the red hood, the heiress bent down and grabbed her fallen blade, swallowing the urge to burst into tears. "No, it won't. But I know what will." With a turn, she faced the unmoving Faunus and took a deep breath in. "In the name of the Schnee family line, I, Huntress Weiss, youngest of the line, call upon you in this time of need, honoured soul Blake Belladonna."

In a bright flash of white light, Blake was standing above her own body, a white and blue imitation of her former self. "What in the...?" And was immediately tackle-hugged by Yang. "Blake! You're back! Or should I say you're... _black_?"

"Back? The last thing I remember is..." she glanced around, her eyes widening. "Is... Wait... Am I... How did..." Looking down was the last straw, and the Faunus fainted, held up only by the brawler.

 _Oh, yeah, that worked so well,_ Weiss snarked in her own head, even as she turned back to face the pale Ruby. "I know this is horrifying. I know that you want to run. Believe me, I do too. When I found out about this, I wanted to never call upon it in my life."

A distant roar made Weiss hang her head. "But we have to do this. _I_ have to do this. So we can go back to a normal life, and let sleeping friends lie."

Striding over to the bodies on the stairs, she slid the yellow bracers of Ember Celica onto her wrists, holstered the dark blade of Gambol Shroud on her back, and fastened Blush to her belt, Wilt sheathed inside. "Trust me, Ruby. Everything will turn out fine." _It won't_ , said a small nagging feeling in the back of her head.

"Again, I hope you know what you're doing, Weiss." The familiar clack of Crescent Rose's bolt was a small comfort to her, even with the waver in her voice. "Blake, Yang, the two of you stand ground here. Luckily, this place is abandoned, so we don't have to worry about collateral damage."

"Cat-lateral damage?" It was Blake who had said that with a smirk plastered across her face, much to Weiss's surprise and Yang's glee. "That is the biggest reason I know right now as to why I love you, kitten."

"Weiss, you and I will go below and see if we can't assist Doctor Oobleck and Professor Ozpin. If we can, then we will. If not, then we come back up, and all four of us carve a path to extraction."

A familiar lump started to form in Weiss's throat. "Of course. I love you, rose petal."

The smile across Ruby's face seemed natural to a casual observer, but Weiss was the master of forced smiles, and could spot one a mile away, let alone one in front of her. "I love you too, snow angel."

\-------

"Well! I do believe that it is currently an extremely good time to be starting to think about an escape plan that involves both staying alive and getting to the extraction point!" The stream of words came out in a flurry, emphasised by the slosh of liquid inside of Erratic Ignition as the weapon itself broke an Ursa's skull.

"Can't hold them off much longer!" Yang belted out, blasts of pure energy scattering Beowolves. "Blake, you good to hold off, or should you escort?"

A second of unresponsiveness followed, before the brawler spared a glance around. "Blake? Where'd you go?"

"She went down, Yang. She'll be alright, but her Aura needs to recover." An arcing slash decapitated a leaping Creep, and Weiss looked at everyone. "Grab the bodies. Heroes never die, but they deserve a burial nonetheless."

"You know, I never thought I'd ever have to carry myself. I am heavy as hell." With a grunt, Yang lifted her body onto one shoulder, still firing with the other hand in a futile attempt to take out more of the horde as it receded once more.

Taking a second, Weiss closed her eyes, a hand on the handle of Wilt. Then a bright flash engulfed the area, and a spectral Adam was standing before them. "Finally brought me out, huh? I'm going to relish-"

"Adam Taurus. You are under my command, and I command you to carry Blake Belladonna's body."

The bull Faunus paused. "Her... body? She's dead?" Another long pause followed when he looked at the unmoving Blake. "I... As you command, madam Schnee." He strode to the body, picking her up almost reverentially.

Weiss was the only one to notice a tear trickle down both his and her own cheek. "Alright. Let's rendezvous with the Bullhead and get out of here."

Slowly, the collection of people moved through the city towards the park, Oobleck pulling a flare and gun from his backpack and being the only one speaking. "Rendezvous with the Bullhead, ETA ten minutes. Five to get there and five more for the bullhead to fly to us. Likely area of 'last stand', as some might call it. Prepare yourself, miss Rose, miss Schnee. We might require both of you in the back rather than the front. Reinforce mister Taurus here-" A pointed glare at Adam earned Oobleck a scowl. "Along with miss Belladonna and miss Xiao Long."

"Gotcha. Long range support it is." The bland statement that came from Ruby caused Weiss's stomach to knot itself into a pretzel bow. _I'll have to talk to her about all of this later._

Another echo of howls resonated through the long dead town just as they reached the park, swing set creaking ominously as it swing in the slight wind. Adam swallowed, gently setting Blake down. "Madam Schnee, do you require anything else of me?"

"If you are willing to cooperate, then we could use your assistance to fight the Grimm." Weiss inhaled. "However, if you so desire, you may depart."

Surprisingly, he bowed, fading slowly from sight starting at the feet. "Very well, madam Schnee. I wish to speak with Blake and yourself, when you next can."

Weiss watched him vanish, lost in her own thoughts, until a shrill shriek cut through the reverie as Oobleck's flare spun into the sky, Yang standing beside her. "You think we can trust him? Last time he shot-"

"I know full well what he did last time, Yang." Turning to face the white, pale reflection of her teammate, she sighed. "If he tries it again, then I will shatter his blade with his shotgun, and cleave the shotgun with his blade."

Yang merely nodded, turning to face the mass of black that had started to surge towards them. "Good. Now let's kick some ass."

\-------

Ozpin roared in anger, Eternal Engine breaking Grimm limbs left and right as the spiritual form of Yang spun around him, blasting anything getting close to their tight circle. On the other side, Ruby sniped away at the biggest of the tide, Oobleck swatting aside the smaller ones that dared get near.

In the centre was Weiss, throwing ice shards left and right, pumping her own Aura power into Yang's in an effort to keep her around and slowly learning how to handle more than one weapon on her, let alone using them in conjunction. _So this is what Blake had to deal with. I can see why it's annoying._

A blast from Blush into a Beowolf that strayed too close made her take a step back, and she swung it around in a small arc, clocking a second one in the face and letting her fire off Ember Celica. The recoil from that send her elbow into the stomach of a third, and she had to whirl about, slashing with Myrtenaster to cut its torso before it attacked her.

 _Every movement and shot has to count,_ she thought, blocking an Ursa strike with a yellow gauntlet before unloading twice into its face with the dark shotgun in hand. _Okay, starting now._

 _"Weiss! Duck!"_ Ruby's cry caused her to instinctively hit the deck as a sniper round whizzed by where her head was, a shower of Grimm dissolvings covering her.

"Thanks, Ruby!" Rolling to the side, she slammed the gauntlet into the dirt, sending her back onto her feet with a single blast. Looking around, she got a bearing of how many Grimm were about and how close the circle had become. With an inhale, the heiress steeled herself, shaking the gauntleted hand to ease some of the pain. _Here's hoping the Bullhead comes soon. Two minutes late already._

It was that moment that the overcast skies were broken by a shining hunk of metal, a familiar collection of gold and brown pointing from the open hatch. "Cavalry's arrived, bitches!" With a brief whine, the minigun burst into life, bullets spraying all over the crowd of Grimm and forcing the crowd to recede. Weiss smiled for the first time since they came here, turning about. "We did it, Ruby. We're sa..."

The words died in her throat at the sight of her wife, lying on the ground with a handful of bullet holes in the legs and torso, Oobleck holding her upright and Crescent Rose embedded beside her. "Miss Schnee..."

Dread filled her stomach.

Dashing over to Ruby's prone form, she frantically looked over the bleeding woman, tearing off strips from both sets of clothing and wrapping them around the wounds. "No, no, no, This can't be happening, not now, we just got through, don't die on me, Ruby, please!"

Silver eyes, awash with tears, looked up at the heiress. "Please, Weiss, I don't wanna die..."

"You're not going to!" With a glance skyward, she saw Coco standing at the edge of the Bullhead, a hand over her mouth in shock. "Coco! Get a first aid kit, get a medic, _anything!_ "

"Miss Schnee, please." Oobleck spoke up, his words heavy. "That would be wasting resources."

"Then what do _you_ suggest, doc... tor..." It took a second for the situation to sink in, but when it did, Weiss felt her face become wet with tears, her heart shatter and her voice waver. "Ruby, I can keep you alive. But you're going to have to trust me. Can you trust me?"

A weak smile crept across Ruby's face. "I love you... snow angel..."

"I love you too, rose petal." Swallowing the metaphorical Myrtenaster in her throat, she plunged the literal one into the red hood's chest. "I'm so sorry..."

"Weiss! What the hell is goi-" Yang had ran over, confused at first, but seeing the heiress mercy-kill her sister made her freeze. "Weiss?"

Ice-blue lips met cherry red, a few flecks of rain hitting the ground around the duo. "No more pain, my love. At least, for you."

Slowly, Weiss stood, holding the now-inert body of her lover. "In the name of the-" A sob made the sentence skip slightly. "The Schnee family line..." The heiress swallowed hard. "I, Heiress Weiss, wife to Ruby Schnee, call upon you, Ruby Rose."

The third bright flash in the day revealed a third figure, cloak a beautiful ice-blue. "Weiss... I... I'm sorry."

Oobleck gently pulled Ruby's body from Weiss's hands, and she wrapped them around the spiritual form of Ruby. "So am I..."

The two stayed wrapped together, small trickles of tears flowing freely, until they got back to the safe house that was their temporary home.


	4. Loneliest of All

\----Five months later----

The halls of Beacon Academy were so familiar, yet eerily detached from what they once were. The numerous classrooms and hallways lined with lockers had been overrun with light vegetation and the unshakeable stench of Grimm, courtesy of the immense frozen dragon at the top of Ozpin's old tower. In particular, the cafeteria that Weiss Schnee now stood in had numerous plants covering the ruined tables and chairs, and a hefty pile of dissolving Grimm in the centre.

Weiss straightened up, holding Blush in her left hand as she sheathed Wilt inside. "Another nest down. Adam, you remember this. Where did you unload the Grimm around here?"

From behind her, the former White Fang leader strode, glancing about. "It wasn't here that they originated. We had some in Bullheads, and they were deposited near the statue out front. From there, some must have gotten around. I ordered the Fang to spread out and cause chaos as we landed alongside them."

White shone from her other side as Yang Xiao Long leaned against one of the broken tables. "Didn't you cut my arm off in here?"

"Didn't you steal the heart of the only woman I ever cared about here?" Adam glared at the other spectre through his mask, his grip on the white hilt by his side tightening.

Kicking off from the table, Yang shrugged. "The offer to share Blake is still on the table. That is, if you can stop being edgier than your butter knife and admit that you were an asshole."

Slowly drawing the ice-blue blade from Blush, Adam growled. "You want me to make the arm loss permanent?"

"Both of you, stop. I summoned you two for your combat ability, not your constant bickering." Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. _Damn these two._ "Besides, Blake's Aura got depleted yesterday, so when we're done here, you can both go and keep her company. Now, were there any major points the Grimm congregated around, Adam?"

He shook his head. "Mainly around the tower, but that was due to the dragon's arrival." He tilted his head slightly, then tensed up, looking back where they came. "Unknown plane coming in. Permission to engage?"

"No, that would be Winter. Both of you are dismissed for now." With a wave of her hand, the heiress cut the connection to her will. Watching Adam and Yang fade away, she sighed. _Time to report to the family again._

Striding out from the cafeteria, Weiss looked upon the broken statue in the courtyard, the majority of the two figures standing on the Grimm broken into pieces. _Once so proud. Look at how high we went, and how far we fell._

Shaking her head to clear the morbid thoughts, the heiress turned and bowed at the footsteps approaching her. "General Schnee."

"Huntress Schnee." A careful nod was the response, before a hand was placed on her shoulder by Winter, the slight smile across her face genuine. "It is always good to see you alive and well, Weiss."

Her jaw clenched. "Even if others aren't. I presume you are here for something of importance, or is this a rare leisure cruise? If the latter, I highly doubt Beacon Academy would be the first choice of anyone, let alone the successor to the man who let it crumble." They might have been harsh words, but they were true.

Winter's eyes narrowed. "Father has ordered me to bring you back to Atlas. He tires of waiting for the famed heiress huntress to return home."

"Was it not clear in my last call to him that I have no intention of returning home and claiming his empire? Beacon has been, and will be, my highest priority. Neither Jacques, nor you, can take me away from that." Turning on her heel, Weiss made to leave.

A glyph in front of her made her stop. "Weiss. It was not a request. It was an order."

"General, I am staying here until it is cleared of Grimm and ghosts." With a wave of her own hand, the glyph shattered. "If you cannot comprehend that, then perhaps Father should know about how you left Vale, and thereby let it fall to Cinder, right after we spoke so long ago."

The sound of a sabre drawn from its scabbard made Weiss turn back around to the sight of Winter, blade at the ready. "Do not make this harder than it needs to be, Weiss. We both know I am stronger than you."

"Maybe alone." Placing a hand on Crescent Rose, an elbow on Gambol Shroud and the other hand on Wilt, the heiress straightened her posture, unflinching as the forms of team RWBY and Adam stepped out from behind her with a deep blue flash. "But I have my team. My allies."

One of the general's eyebrows shot up her forehead as Adam grinned. "Finally. Payback for Faunus everywhere."

"Please. You expect to beat me with your past?" Winter waved her hand, sigils bursting underneath the white and blue spectres. When nothing happened, she started to look around confusedly. "I mean, how can you expect to defeat me?"

Ruby was the first one to speak up. "We're not just a Beowolf you can banish. We're team RWBY. We're still here. And we're going to stay as long as it takes to clear this place and bring people back."

Blake growled. "You might not care about Weiss any more, but we do. For an in-law, you really are a horrible cow."

"How dare you, you mangy cat! Sister, if you will not hold their tongues, then I will gladly remove them for you!" The small parrying dagger popped from Myrtaceae's hilt as Winter leveled both blades in the group's direction.

Weiss's face hardened. "Blake is not a 'mangy cat', as you so callously brand her. She is a woman. You have become a robot." She turned back to face the dilapidated school. "Beacon is my home for now, Winter. I will only be moved if our bastard failure of a dad shows his face here."

Myrtaceae's blade would have pierced through her head, had Adam not drawn Wilt and parried the strike. "Well put, madam Schnee. Now, I think it is high time you left, _General._ Otherwise, I would love to beat you into the ground."

"You will pay for your insolence, sister! All of you will!"

\-------

It had been balanced against the general from the start. Weiss knew Winter could hold her own against a veteran Huntsman like Qrow, but against more than two, she stood less of a chance. With four Huntresses and a trained ex-terrorist?

 _Speaking of whom,_ she thought as Adam cracked Blush under the chin of her sister, sending her into the air. "And here I thought you were actually competent."

With a flip, Winter landed on her feet and spat blood just before both Ruby and Blake sprinted towards her. "Ladybug!"

The pure speed of the duo forced the older Schnee on the defensive, parrying and dodging the swings as much as she could while darting about and breaking each glyph that tried to stop her, trying to conceal the fact that she was tiring out. Weiss could see that the act wasn't working. "This fight is one-sided, sister! You will not win!"

Weiss smirked, before time slowed to a crawl around her. Ruby and Blake were almost frozen in mid-air, both about to get parried again. Adam and Yang had their shotguns loaded and aimed to either side.

It was almost serene to see everything in extremely slow motion.

Until the heiress strode over to where Winter had lunged for, slamming a boot into her jaw and breaking the time glyph on herself. Pinning her sister to the cobblestone underfoot, Weiss snorted as Blake and Ruby both went into a roll. "I agree with half of your statement, Winter. This fight is _extremely_ one-sided. Yield, sister, and you may return to Jacqueswith the news."

Light blue eyes narrowed, before the general scowled. "Fine. You win this day. But Father will not be pleased."

As each spectre nodded and faded from view, Weiss turned and strode for Beacon's front entrance. "I relish the thought of his anger."

She barely got into the main auditorium, hearing Winter's ship take off and fly away, before she felt tears trickle down her cheeks. Stepping onto the large stage and up to the abandoned microphone, a couple of taps confirmed it was working.

Then, Weiss started to sing.

 _Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?_  
_Save me from the things I see!_  
_I can keep it from the world,_  
_Why won't you let me hide from me?_

 _Mirror, mirror, tell me something,_  
_Who's the loneliest of all?_

_I'm the loneliest of all._

As the last words echoed through the halls, the woman in white collapsed to her knees, the sun setting on an eclectic clatter of weapons and a growing pool of tears.

_fin._


End file.
